The Bar Specialist Goes Back-of-House: IMC Launches Cirrus Refrigeration

IMC — the UK bar and catering equipment maker owned by American giant Middleby — has launched a professional refrigeration range called Cirrus, expanding well beyond the back-bar territory the brand is known for. Trade title Catering Insight reported the move in mid-August as a significant expansion of IMC’s refrigeration offering.

The interesting part is the engineering behind the badge. IMC’s own product literature introduces the Cirrus chef bases as “brought to you in conjunction with our market leading sister company Desmon” — the Italian refrigeration specialist Middleby acquired and now runs alongside IMC and Lincat. In other words, this is not a bar company suddenly pretending to build fridges: it is established refrigeration manufacturing arriving under a British trade brand.

What’s in the range

The Cirrus line-up listed so far covers refrigerated chef bases in two- and four-GN widths, upright fridges and freezers at 1,400 litres, a 275-litre counter fridge, and blast chillers in five-, seven- and ten-shelf sizes. The chef bases follow the format Lincat established with its Blu° series: sturdy refrigerated drawers that sit directly under heavy cooking equipment such as chargrills, griddles and induction hobs, putting chilled ingredients at the point of cooking. They run from −2°C to +8°C and work from a standard three-pin plug.

Construction claims are solid: 304-grade stainless steel inside and out, electronic digital controls, and R290 natural refrigerant with hot-gas automatic defrost on the blast chillers.

The warranty question

UK cover on the listed Cirrus models is three years — two years parts and labour, plus a third year parts only. That is respectable for a new range, though warranty structures vary widely across the refrigeration market and some established refrigeration brands offer longer parts-and-labour cover on comparable cabinets. Whatever you buy, compare the exact model’s terms — headline years and what is actually covered are two different things.

Craven’s verdict

The strength here is pedigree by proxy: Desmon manufacturing plus Middleby’s parts-and-service machinery means Cirrus starts life more credible than most new refrigeration badges. The caution is that it is still a new range in the UK — there is no long-term track record yet of how these exact cabinets hold up in British kitchens, and the warranty, while reasonable, is not the longest available. Cirrus will suit bars and kitchens already running IMC or Lincat equipment who want one supplier across the whole line, and anyone fitting out a cooking suite where chef bases make sense. Craven Cooling can put a Cirrus model side by side with the established alternatives we know well and tell you honestly where each wins.

The stunt — The Warranty File Hour: Pull the paperwork for every fridge, freezer and blast chiller you own and build a one-page table: model, purchase date, what the warranty covers, and when it expires. Most operators discover at least one cabinet already out of cover and one claim they could still make. It takes an hour, costs nothing, and turns your next breakdown from a panic into a phone call.

Sources: IMC Cirrus refrigerated chef base specification (Lincat) · IMC Cirrus blast chiller specification (Lincat) · Middleby acquisition of Desmon (corporate release) · Catering Insight report on the IMC Cirrus launch